Defensive publication



DEFENSIVE PUBLICATIONT UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Published at therequest of the applicant or owner in accordance with the Notice of Apr.11, 1968, 849 0.6. 1221. I entlflcation is by serial number of theapplication and the heading indicates the number of pages ofspecification, including claims, and of sheets of drawing contained inthe application as originally filed. The file of this application isavailable to the public for inspection; reproduction may be purchasedfor 30 cents per sheet.

Applications published under the Defensive Publication Program have notbeen examined as to the merits of alleged invention. The Patent Oflicemakes no assertion as to the novelty of the disclosed subject matter.

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2, 1969 746,313 PROCESS FOR FORMING ALPHA-OLEFINBLOCK COPOLYMERS George 0. Cash, Jr., P.0. Box 511, Kingsport, Tenn.37662 Filed July 22, 1968. Published Sept. 2, 1969 Int. Cl. C08f 15/04,1/42 US. Cl. 260-878 No Drawing. 11 Pages Specification Process ofpreparing alpha-olefin block copolymers comprising:

(a) initially reacting ethylene with an aluminum compound having theformula AlR wherein R represents alkyl, aryl or cycloalkyl, to form along chain aluminum hydrocarbon compound of the formula wherein y is aninteger of at least about 19, and

(b) subsequently contacting the product of said aluminum compound andethylene with an alpha-olefin having the formula CH =CHR wherein R isalkyl, alkenyl, aryl, cycloalkyl or cycloalkenyl, and a halide or acetylacetonate of a transition metal of Groups IV-B to VI-B of the PeriodicTable.

The resultant block copolymcr has the structure wherein (A) is derivedfrom the alpha-olefin added in step (b). Specific alpha-olefinscontemplated are propylene, 4-methy1-1-pentene, l-hexene, l-octene,butadiene, isoprene, styrene and dimethylene cyclohexene.

Block copolymers with widely varying properties can be prepared.Relatively low molecular weight copolymers containing polymeric blocksof 3-methyl-l-butene or 4- methyl-l-pentene are useful as additives tolubricating oils to maintain a constant viscosity over a broadtemperature range, for instance, while copolymers with polymeric blocksof propylene or l-butene can be extruded to form tough, clear film orfibers with high tensile strength.

